BY MARISSA CUDDY
Sky Zone puts a new twist on the classic backyard trampoline.
The indoor park, which opened at 150 Gateway Park Dr. in Kitchener on Oct. 30, has many trampolines on the ground and walls. They also have a foam pit and basketball nets for added fun.
Open Jump is a general event where people have access to all the park has to offer. This includes the main court, the foam zone, ultimate dodgeball, sky slam and more. The main court is just regular free jump. The foam zone is a pit filled with 10,000 foam cubes with a trampoline runway. Sky Slam lets you dunk like a pro with a trampoline launch pad that launches you 10 feet into the air.
“It is so much fun, you feel like a little kid again,” said Carly Cousineau, the event lead at Sky Zone. “You feel so free and have nothing on your mind while you are jumping.”
The park also has events and classes people can sign up for. Some of these include dodgeball, Sky Fitness, Skyrobics, Jumpalooza and Sky Camp, which will start in the summer of 2016.
“I’m excited to see the diversity of people the park brings in,” Cousineau said. “I think we will see a lot of kids, but also see teens and maybe companies looking to do team-building activities.”
Sky Zone is also looking into starting a program for kids who have sensitivities such as to light, sound or even other people. It will focus on a quieter time for these kids to have fun. Cousineau said the park is great for everyone, not just kids.
“It was so much fun,” said Joshua Juhnke, a Conestoga College second-year woodworking student. “My favourite part was getting to hang out with friends while jumping on a bunch of trampolines.”
Sky Zone is different than many other trampoline parks in the area because it is an amusement and entertainment facility, not just an athletic and training facility. Cousineau said Sky Zone is a great place for church youth groups, birthday parties and getting together with friends to hang out. They are also hoping to see sports and corporate teams come out for team-building activities.
“Birthday parties are huge at Sky Zone. We have a lot of them,” Cousineau said.
Jumpers are separated by age for safety. There are five groups: ages 0-4, ages 5-10, ages 11-15 and ages 16 or older. Each person who wants to jump must fill out a waiver before entering the trampoline area. The waivers can be filled out at Sky Zone on their computers or can be filled out at home before going there.
Sky Zone staff recommends people arrive 30 minutes before their jump time to fill out waivers, and purchase a pair of SkySocks, which are required to jump. Payments and bookings can be done online or on-site.
SkySocks, which are $2, are bright orange with grips on the bottom that can only be purchased at the park. Cousineau said they make jumping safer and the best part is you can reuse the socks as long as they have no holes or rips.
The price depends on how long you choose to jump, with times going from a half-hour to two hours and the prices starting at $10 up to $24.
Sky Zone may have just opened in Kitchener, but they have parks all around the world with many in the United States and Australia. Dubai and Mexico are also being considered as future locations.
For more information on Sky Zone visit
www.skyzone.com/ca/kitchener or call 519-804-4455.
What is Journalism?